BLHO Chapter 12
by VolareLin Shuangxu looked at him coldly, saying nothing.
He Yuncheng quickly tried to smooth things over, “I meant towards the princess, towards the princess, not towards you…”
“Let’s go back to the General’s Manor.” Lin Shuangxu turned away indifferently. “Today isn’t a good time, we’ll come again another day.”
He Yuncheng cleared his throat slightly awkwardly, put his arm around his waist, and steadily climbed down from the eaves.
The General’s Manor carriage was waiting for them at the other end of the street. The two of them walked one after the other through the dark alley and got into the carriage.
Lin Shuangxu lowered his eyes, silent.
He was trying to recall the name of that *xiaoguan*, surname Song, Song Jiting. The name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it before, but he couldn’t remember where.
He Yuncheng sat opposite him, observing his expression, “What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”
Lin Shuangxu said, “Investigate the identity of that *xiaoguan* carefully, and see why he ended up at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion.”
Finally, he could claim to be someone who had been to a brothel. He Yuncheng used what he had heard here the other day to analyze with Lin Shuangxu, “What kind of identity could a brothel *xiaoguan* have? Either he comes from a humble background or his family has fallen on hard times. Either he couldn’t survive, or he was sold into it. Why else would he come to a place like this? Could it be that he likes sleeping with men?”
If he didn’t have anything serious to say, he could have just kept quiet.
Lin Shuangxu glared at him and was too lazy to explain anything to him, “Just investigate if I tell you to.”
“Alright, as you command. I’ll send someone to investigate tomorrow.” He looked like he had everything under control, “But I don’t think it’s necessary to go to so much trouble. You saw the situation just now, that *xiaoguan* was locked in the room. When Li Yuliang was getting intimate with him, he was extremely unwilling, clearly being forced. As long as we can rescue him from this misery, he should be willing to cooperate.”
Lin Shuangxu was expressionless, calmly saying, “Not necessarily being forced.”
“Huh?” He Yuncheng didn’t understand this. “Wasn’t that being forced? Didn’t you hear how much he was crying just now? He kept shouting no.”
“Shouting no doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a real no. You only know how to think about things in a straightforward manner.”
What did that mean? He Yuncheng adopted a posture of humbly seeking guidance, “Please instruct me, Young Master. Could it be that there are people in this world who are so insincere, wanting it in their heart but saying no with their mouth?”
Lin Shuangxu saw the cunning in He Yuncheng’s eyes. He was ostensibly asking about Song Jiting’s matter, but in reality, he wanted to pry into something else.
Could he even associate that with him?
Just now, Song Jiting was indeed resisting verbally, but body language doesn’t lie.
It was fine if He Yuncheng didn’t understand. Lin Shuangxu didn’t want to talk about this with him.
The night was silent, the carriage moving forward quietly. The two people in the carriage didn’t speak for a long time.
Suddenly, He Yuncheng leaned forward, reaching out his hand towards Lin Shuangxu without warning.
The carriage was cramped, and there was nowhere for Lin Shuangxu to dodge. He subconsciously flared up, “What are you doing, He Yuncheng, don’t you…”
Saying no with his mouth, but actually wanting it in his heart?
Lin Shuangxu realized something was wrong halfway through his sentence, shut his mouth, and stared blankly at He Yuncheng.
He Yuncheng’s deep eyes concealed a smile, but his movements didn’t stop. He pulled Lin Shuangxu’s arm, bringing him closer, raised his hand to smooth his hair, and then withdrew it after a moment.
“You had something on your head.” He pinched a thin, withered leaf with his fingertips, and slowly asked, “Don’t you want me to do what?”
The night was deep, and the lamps in the General’s Manor were gradually extinguished. The busy servants all returned to their side rooms to rest, leaving only a candle lit in Lin Shuangxu’s room. He sat by the window, not yet asleep.
He was thinking about that *xiaoguan* named Song Jiting, speculating about his identity and origin, carefully recalling where he had heard the name before.
Before he could sort out his thoughts, his mind drifted uncontrollably elsewhere.
“Don’t you want me to do what?”
He Yuncheng had spoken to him frankly and openly on the carriage just now, but he was so flustered that he couldn’t utter a single word. So the two of them had sat in silence like that all the way, without even exchanging a glance.
He Yuncheng had already made his words clear, and he did as he said, not making the slightest offensive gesture anymore.
For some reason, Lin Shuangxu only felt that the atmosphere between them was even more awkward.
His mind was full of He Yuncheng’s face, and the scene of them embracing and sleeping together that night replayed repeatedly.
Remembering it, Lin Shuangxu’s heartbeat began to accelerate uncontrollably.
At this moment, a sudden knock on the door startled him so much that he almost suffocated.
“Who is it?”
“Are you asleep?”
It was He Yuncheng.
Hadn’t they just parted ways? What was he doing coming over so late when he should be resting?
Lin Shuangxu got up and walked to the door, but he didn’t open it, asking him through the door panel, “What is it?”
“It’s something. Open the door, I’ll come in and tell you.”
He secretly adjusted his breathing, hesitated with his hands on the door bolt, and opened the door.
The warm air in the room clashed with the cold air outside, making his already uneasy mood even more restless.
His attitude was very indifferent. He glanced at He Yuncheng, turned around, and returned to the window to sit down.
“What is it?”
He Yuncheng looked calm. His attitude towards Lin Shuangxu had always been proper. He closed the door, walked to Lin Shuangxu’s side, and without mentioning any serious business, just stared at his flushed face, asking worriedly, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?”
He had just recovered from the cold a few days ago, and then Princess Meng Ning punished him by kneeling, and he didn’t know if his body had recovered. Today, he had dragged him along to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion to look for someone, and this ordeal must have been too much for him.
He Yuncheng was afraid that he had a fever again, and reached out to feel his forehead.
Lin Shuangxu quickly dodged, “I’m fine!”
If he was fine, then he was fine, why was he being so fierce.
“Really fine?”
Lin Shuangxu was impatient, “If you have something to say, say it quickly. I want to rest.”
He Yuncheng looked at him strangely, nodded, and said, “The military pay you prepared for me has already started to be distributed to the soldiers’ families. It won’t delay the military families from celebrating the New Year.”
Lin Shuangxu’s expression softened slightly, “Okay.”
He Yuncheng added, “According to our He family’s tradition, we have to hold a banquet in the camp at the end of the year to thank the soldiers. I’ve already ordered the military advisor to prepare this year’s banquet. The plan is to hold the banquet in two days. Do you think that’s okay?”
Lin Shuangxu said, “Since it’s already been decided, there’s no need to ask me again. You are the general, you make the decisions about military matters. You don’t have to consult me about everything.”
He Yuncheng had that same deadpan look again, saying, “If I don’t consult you, how will I know what I can decide and what I can’t decide?” He moved closer to Lin Shuangxu, “I wouldn’t dare to act on my own authority, lest I provoke someone to get angry again.”
He Yuncheng carefully observed Lin Shuangxu’s face, his cheeks were red, and his ears were also red. He couldn’t help but ask again, “Are you really okay? Are you sure you’re not feeling unwell?”
“No.”
Lin Shuangxu was good at pretending. No matter how turbulent his heart was, his surface was always calm.
“Is there anything else?”
He Yuncheng thought for a moment and shook his head, “No, there isn’t.”
“Go back if there’s nothing else.”
Why the rush?
He Yuncheng slowly paced around his room, smelling here and there while observing.
He smelled near the incense burner, then lifted the bed curtains and smelled around the bedside, and then returned to Lin Shuangxu’s side and leaned in to smell his chest.
Lin Shuangxu really couldn’t take it anymore and pushed him away, “What are you smelling? There’s no bone in my room.”
Okay, he was scolding him again.
He Yuncheng didn’t mind, followed his force and stepped back, asking him, “What exactly did you put on your body that day? Your scent is still on my bed, I can’t sleep at all.”